1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle door latch apparatus having a latch body and an actuator.
2. Description of the Related Art
The vehicle door latch apparatus has a latch body, which is enabled to restrain an opening/closing body, such as a tailgate, in a closed state, and also has an actuator enabled by a drive source, such as a motor, to operate the latch body.
The latch body has a latch housing (cover plate) fixed to the opening/closing body. A meshing part constituted by a latch and a locking plate (ratchet) or the like is accommodated in a concave accommodating portion provided in the latch housing and opened in the top surface thereof.
The actuator is fixed to the open side of the accommodating portion in the latch housing and has an actuator housing (case) in which the drive source is accommodated. An operating member enabled to transmit an operating force of the drive source to a latch means is provided outside the actuator housing (see, for example, JP-A-2003-90158).
In a related apparatus disclosed in JP-A-2003-90158, the operating member is provided outside the actuator housing and exposed to the outside. Thus, rainwater adheres to the operating member. This results in the generation of rust thereon. Further, when the door latch apparatus is assembled to the opening/closing body, the operating member provided outside the actuator housing interferes with a mounting hole of the opening/closing body. Thus, the assemblability thereof is poor. Moreover, a gap is formed between the latch housing and the actuator housing in a state in which the actuator housing is mounted onto the latch housing. Thus, the meshing part is operated through the gap by illicit actions. This is undesirable form the point of antitheft view. Therefore, the configuration of this apparatus is extremely disadvantageous for water-proofness, assemblability, and anti-theft capability.